


Patient Is The Night

by TheManyFacesofJester



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, HS gets mentions, Halloween AU, M/M, sort of...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 09:30:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6233395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheManyFacesofJester/pseuds/TheManyFacesofJester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben decides to attend a Halloween party in order to see Caleb Brewster, who he may or may not have been in love with since Freshman Year. The evening does not go as planned, and yet, does anything ever?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Patient Is The Night

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I have no idea what this is. There's this episode of Over The Garden Wall, 'Into the Unknown', where the scenery premise is the same and I just thought the aesthetic was really fun, so, here we go!

Ben still wasn’t quite sure what he was going as. He should have picked a costume earlier, but until tonight Nathan hadn’t been able to convince him to go to Anna’s Halloween Party.

“But everyone is going!” Nathan had whined every day since Anna had invited the two of them. Ben, however, was not at all interested in wasting his Friday night in a house full of high school seniors that Ben was desperate to be rid of already. That was until he found out who ‘everyone’ included.

“Guess who’s coming tonight?” Nathan said over the phone as Ben sat alone in his room. “Caleb Brewster.”

That had caught Ben’s interest. It’s not like it was a big deal that Caleb would be there. Not a big deal in the same way that Ben totally hadn’t been violently in love with him since freshman year. Absolutely not. But, at the same time, it couldn’t _hurt_ to make an appearance.

At last Ben gave up and agreed to come, Nathan making promises to arrive at Ben’s place in an hour so they could walk to Anna’s together. That left Ben with very little time to throw together a costume. He didn’t own anything black, so that was out of the question, or anything colourful, so he really didn’t have many options. Then he remembered the old soldier’s uniform in his brother’s closet. The blue and gold revolutionary outfit had been in the house since who knows when and Sam had worn it a few times before he left for college. Ben scrambled up the staircase and threw the uniform on.

The doorbell rang before Ben could check what he looked like in the mirror. In truth, the doorbell rang multiple times, Nathan having a habit of ringing it repeatedly until someone opened the door for him. He claimed he would break the habit as soon as he received a house key. That wasn’t likely to happen.

“Damn!” Nathan said as soon as the door opened. “Is that Sam’s old suit?”

“Yeah. Why, do I look awful?”

“No, it suits you. Make that ponytail a braid and you’re a bona fide soldier,” he commented, pointing to Ben’s long, tied-up hair. Ben rolled his eyes and stepped outside to join Nathan on the porch. The street was littered with small children dressed in a variety of costumes, though super heroes and Disney princesses seemed to be the common thread. The only house on the street with the porch light off was the Tallmadge’s. Ben’s father was a pastor at their church and while he didn’t completely detest Halloween, he certainly wasn’t one to take part in it. Ben didn’t tell him he was going to a Halloween party, only that he was going out for the night with Nathan, which was probably for the best since Ben definitely wouldn’t have been allowed to go to any kind of party, regardless of if it was Halloween themed. Not that that had ever stopped him before.

“What are you supposed to be?” Ben asked as the pair headed down the street, not really looking at what Nathan was wearing. A calm breeze blew by and scattered dry leaves as they walked, creating quite the mood.

“I’m a pirate,” Nathan said in an exasperated kind of way. “I would think that’s obvious given the hook and eye patch.” He gestured to his costume wildly with his hands.

“Right, right,” Ben said absent-mindedly.

“What’s up with you? What, are you nervous you’re gonna see Caleb and swoon like you did in History last year?”

“I didn’t swoon!” Ben barked. “I stood up too fast and got a head rush-”

“Yeah, OK, you got a head rush _right_ when Caleb walked into the room in his new suit and tie. Sure.”

“That was a coincidence – Can I live?”

“No. You passed out in front of the class and spent the rest of the day in the nurse’s office. That’s some solid evidence for a Sexy Overdose.”

“That’s solid evidence for collapsing on the hard floor and needing to get tested for a concussion,” Ben argued, but it wasn’t any use. Nathan had known freshman year that Ben was head-over-heels for Caleb. Not that it was particularly hard for him to figure out, since the first day Ben had class with Caleb he had flopped himself across the table Nathan was studying at, dramatically declaring that he was dying of emotion.

Anna’s house was close enough so Ben could see it as they walked down the winding street, but it could probably be seen from space with all the decorations and lights it was donning. Orange lights hung from every tree, a fake graveyard rested in the front yard complete with hands that popped out of the ground, skeletons hung from every tree by the neck, which Nathan thought was gruesome, and a fog machine filled the front of the house with a mystic smoke.

“The Strong family really stepped it up this year,” Ben said as they walked up the front walkway. “I’m shocked there isn’t- Oh, sorry!” Ben stopped speaking when he bumped into someone without looking.

“Not a problem- Benny!” Ben melted. It was Caleb. He had bumped into Caleb. Caleb in a… Shark Onesie. “Wow, that’s a great costume. Blue suits you really well. Nathan!” Ben was glad for all the flashing lights as his ears turned pink. Caleb clapped Nathan affectionately on the shoulder then refocused in on Ben.

“So you’re a shark,” Ben said, rather stupidly. It had sounded better in his head.

“Land-Shark!” Caleb corrected. “Yeah, I impulse ordered this a few months ago and I finally have some use for it! Actually, I ordered a seal first, but they lost the order, so they sent me this instead!”

“Looks comfortable.”

“It is! Warm too! I almost wore it to school today! Abe!” Caleb touched his hand to Ben’s shoulder as he wandered off to find their other mutual friend.

“Hey, you didn’t faint!” Nathan said under his breath.

“Shut up,” Ben replied. His shoulder felt like pins and needles. He expected Caleb to be gone for good, off to spend time somewhere else, but he instead returned with Abe and Anna in tow.

“Ben! You decided to come after all!” Anna exclaimed when she reached him. “Gee, I wonder why,” she added, side-eyeing Caleb. Ben cleared his throat loudly and changed the subject.

“Nice costume.”

“Thanks. Wonder Woman’s my hero. Caleb said you were wearing a better one, and he’s right. That’s nice!”

“It’s just something I had,” he mumbled. Ben wondered if Caleb had said the outfit was better, or that Ben looked better in the outfit. The distinction was important.

Abe followed behind Caleb and Anna. He was wearing what looked like average day-wear with a cheap cloak thrown over.

“That’s the laziest costume I’ve ever seen,” Nathan said, walking over to lift the cape up and inspect it.

“I didn’t want to spend a fortune on something I was only going to wear once,” Abe said. “How much did you pay for that pirate get-up?”

“Irrelevant!” Nathan said as he continued to look over the hideous cape. In the meantime Caleb had planted himself next to Ben, much to the latter’s delight and subsequent horror.

“You do look really nice,” Caleb started, his hand wandering to Ben’s shoulder to feel the material of the suit and inspect its quality. “It’s just such a You costume.”

“How do you mean?”

“You’re one of those soldier types. Methodical, stoic, barks orders at people.”

“Ah.” That didn’t sound like a compliment.

“Are we going inside, or what?” Nathan asked, finally relinquishing his death grip on Abe’s cloak. “I’m starving. There better be food Anna!”

Inside was loud and lighter than Ben expected it to be. The house lights were on, so there were no dark corners to hide in. For the most part people were dancing, eating or just hanging around. It was more low-key than Ben had anticipated, but he was alright with that for the night. He was really only here to see Caleb, though Caleb seemed to be here to see everyone. He spent a lot of time finding people and saying hello. Ben didn’t know a lot of them, but they all knew Caleb. He was sort of a socialite at school, and it wasn’t any wonder. He had the personality of a sunflower; golden and warm.

Nathan made a point to make himself scarce if Ben and Caleb were together so they could get some time with each other, sometimes even going so far as to intervene in the path of people headed over to speak with Caleb. Ben was grateful, but also feared that he was being too obvious.

“Anna said you weren’t coming, you know!” Caleb said as they chilled out in the living room. It was around 11 o’clock and while there were still people dancing, lots had left or sat down to have conversations with their friends.

“I wasn’t going to come, but Nathan changed my mind.”

“I’m glad. We don’t get to see each other enough.”

“We see each other every day in class, Caleb. And we have the same friends.” Caleb nodded, but seemed unconvinced.

“You wanna go to a graveyard?”

“What?”

“A graveyard,” Caleb repeated. “There’s a cemetery about a mile away. Do you wanna go with me?”

“Um…” Ben considered. “Why?”

“Cause it’s Halloween.”

“Oh.” Ben had never really been one for Halloween traditions, given his family background, but Caleb was inviting him personally to go with him. “What about everyone else?”

“Anna and Abe said they’re game! Anna said she wanted to start throwing people out around midnight anyway. She’s efficient that way. I asked Nathan as well, but he’s off with Alice Adams somewhere so he might want to be with her for the evening.” Caleb prattled on, listing other people he’d asked who’d turned him down. Ben would be glad to have more people around, but he was disheartened at being a last-thought invite.

“Um, sure, yeah, I guess I could go for a few minutes,” Ben replied. “My dad won’t want me out too late though.”

“Sounds good to me! Let’s go round up the troops, eh?” There was a smile across Caleb’s face as he and Ben went searching for Anna, Abe and Nathan. Ben found Nathan reciting poetry to Alice, who seemed amused and enchanted by this act of romanticism. Nathan said could still come, since Alice was heading home anyway. Anna and Abe were found together in the kitchen, Abe discussing the current political issues in America while Anna cleaned up a spilt liquid of some kind, not listening to a word Abe was saying. She seemed delighted that is was midnight and time to throw everyone out. Ignoring the drink on the floor she grabbed an airhorn from the closet and sounded it towards the rest of the house. A megaphone was produced as well.

“If you don’t live here, get out! If you didn’t have it in your hand when you came in, leave it! Also, thanks for coming. Happy Halloween!”

The house was still emptying when Anna, Abe, Nathan, Caleb and Ben left it.

“I don’t really feel like hanging around to watch people leave. If anything goes missing I'll figure out who took it.” Anna said.

“Who’s gonna steal from you, Annie?” Caleb laughed. “Remember when Simcoe tried to keep a pencil he borrowed from you and you broke his locker to get it back?”

“I’m gonna let the ‘Annie’ comment slide because that day was awesome.”

“I heard Simcoe got blamed for the damage because no one saw you break in,” Abe added.

“No one dared _tell_ anyone they saw her break in, you mean! The student body isn’t stupid enough to wish the same wrath unto themselves!” Nathan joined it, walking backwards so he could face his friends while he talked.

The streets were basically deserted by this point. At 9 o’clock a bunch of places had probably turned off their porch lights, but a lot of Halloween decorations were still alight. It was eerie, walking down the dark street, guided only by swinging street lamps and glowing decorations. Everyone was in high spirits, but Ben was getting creeped as the street light numbers decreased and the cemetery came into view. He suddenly found himself walking very close to Caleb as they approached the entrance. His arm, which had been a few inches away, was now pressed tightly against Caleb’s.

“Do you believe in ghosts, Benny?” Caleb asked. He said it like a joke, but his voice waved a little, as though he were actually concerned for the well-being of the other boy.

“No. I mean, maybe. I’ve just never done this before. My family doesn’t celebrate Halloween. It feels weird,” Ben said. Ben _did_ believe in ghosts, as a matter-of-fact, but he wasn’t really of the mind to say it. It spooked him, the thought of spirits.

He kept close to Caleb as they entered the graveyard, the moon creating a lackluster vision of light over the stones that littered the grass. Anna and Nathan both started making ghost sounds as they entered, Anna using her fingernails to scrape at the back of Abe’s head. He swatted her away after he jumped.

“You must be warm in that,” Ben said at last, motioning to Caleb’s shark costume.

“I am! It’s coming in quite handy right now. I bet Anna’s freezing!” He shouted the last bit, even though she was right next to him. Her Wonder Woman costume did seem a bit lax in the chill-prevention department.

“Wonder Woman never gets cold!” Anna proclaimed, and she seemed to mean it, having not shivered once since they left the house.

“It’s cause her heart’s frozen,” Caleb whispered, leaning quite close to Ben’s ear.

“I heard that,”

“Good. Let the truth be spoken.”

“You’re an idiot,” Ben said and Caleb bumped his arm into him playfully.

Finally Caleb decided on the perfect spot and they all sat down on the soft grass. Ben was going to sit next to Nathan but his friend shoved him down next to Caleb first then sat on the other side. Abe pulled some drinks out of the bag he’d been carrying and Caleb produced a flashlight from the pocket of his costume.

“Who’s up to tell the first ghost story?”

Anna went first and really set the bar, sufficiently telling a tragically horrifying tale. Abe told one that might have been scary, but he told the story like he was reading a sermon so it wasn’t as effective. Caleb was next, and while his story started out rather funny, he began delving into the darker parts of the tale. Ben became entrenched in the story of the revolutionary war ghost, setting a house alight every night.

“In the darkness, the new owner saw a flickering on the walls, but didn’t smell any fire. He tried to ignore it, but his eyes were drawn to the shadows passing in front of the flames. The shadow appeared to raise an axe and-”

“MURDER!” Someone shrieked and jumped out from behind one of the gravestones. Ben screamed and clutched at Caleb’s arm. More figures emerged from the gravestones, all dressed in black and apparently covered in blood. Ben sank down closer to Caleb’s body.

“Knock it off, Simcoe!” Anna shouted, apparently recognizing the voice of the first person. Lifting his head Ben could see the figures more clearly now. They were dressed all in black, but not in matching tones, and their shirts, pants and hoods were covered in a bright red dye.

“Aw, did you get scared, Ben?” Bradford sneered, pulling his over-stretched hoodie down.

“Shut it,” Caleb said. Ben sat up straight again, his ears tinted red.

“Of course he’s scared! Did you hear that scream?”

“You make that noise in bed, too?”

“Go to hell!” It was Caleb again, though Nathan was standing up to face Simcoe, Bradford, and Robert. The whole grouped looked upset at the intrusion.

“Sure thing, but first I think we’ll be here for a while,” Simcoe said, sitting himself down next to Anna.

“We were here first,” she growled.

“Last I checked this was public property.”

“Nice outfit, Tallmadge,” Bradford scoffed as he sat down between Ben and Nathan.

“Better than yours,” Caleb said, pulling Ben closer to his side. “Did Burger King charge you for all that ketchup you put on your sweater?”

“Funny, Brewster! I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of costume blood. It’s a bit out of your price range, isn’t it?”

Ben knew exactly why he had become possessed with the _idea_ of kicking Bradford, but he wasn’t entirely sure why he _had_ kicked him. As his right side was leaned against Caleb his feet had been at the optimal angle to whack Bradford in the ribs, and quite hard at that. Before he had time to recognize what he’d done Ben felt Bradford’s fist hit the side of his face. Caleb returned the favor to Bradford, while Simcoe jolted forward to aid his friend. In a matter of seconds an all-out brawl had begun in the middle of the graveyard. Abe and Anna held back Simcoe, kicking him to the ground and keeping him there. Nathan managed Robert all on his own with an offensive technique, as Robert was by far the weakest of the three. That left Caleb and Ben to the task of Bradford, who wasn’t quite as weak as Lee nor as deranged Simcoe, which made him a difficult challenge to face. His ribs were weakened from the first kick, but his real power was in his punches and Ben got the brunt of that force.

Amidst the shouting, punching, and general discord, the group failed to notice the sound of a car driving up the road of the cemetery. They did, however, notice when the flashing red and blue lights.

“What’s going on here?” an officer shouted as he began to exit the car. “I expected to find kids here, but this fight is going too far! You all need to come with me!”

Bradford, Simcoe and Robert were gone like a shot and the rest all disappeared in different directions, Anna in one direction, Abe and Nathan in another. Caleb grabbed Ben’s hand and practically dragged him along as they darted away from the police car. Ben could hear the cop shouting, but he had to make a decision about who to follow and Ben hoped it wasn’t them.

They ran deeper and deeper into the cemetery until Ben had to stop. He was exhausted from the effort of fighting then running, though his costume was quite accommodating to the act. He paused to catch his breath and Caleb joined him.

“Nice kick!” Caleb said, leaning against a tree. “Even better because it was in defense of my honor.” The last part sounded like a joke, but Ben could hear traces of earnest.

“You defended mine,” he replied. “It seemed right.”

“So we’re even then.”

“Was I ever in your debt?”

“Just slightly.” Ben laughed and Caleb joined him. Ben stepped into the light and Caleb’s face went dark.

“Shit, you’re bleeding,” he said. Ben touched his face and felt liquid coming from his nose and lip. Caleb produced a napkin from the pocket of his costume and gently raised it to Ben’s face. “Stay still,” he muttered, placing his hand against Ben’s cheek to steady him. Ben’s ears tinted red again, but not out of mortification this time. Caleb seemed intensely focused on his task, and did the best he could to clean up the other boy’s bloody face.

“Christ, what are you gonna tell your father?”

“My- Oh, shit, My father! What _am_ I gonna tell him? He doesn’t even know I went to a party! Shit, shit-”

“Hold still, you’re making it worse-”

“He’ll never let me leave the house again-”

“Calm down, or I’m gonna end up tearing your face-”

“We don’t even celebrate Halloween. We’re not supposed to-”

“Ben, can you-”

“Ow!” Ben moved his hand up to his mouth to feel more blood coming out than before.

“Sorry. You kept moving.”

“No, it’s my fault, I should have stopped.”

“Yeah, you should have.”

“Well, don’t be too hasty to agree with me,” Ben said with sarcasm. Caleb shrugged and waved the napkin in the air a little, silently asking to continue. Ben nodded and Caleb returned to his work. Ben held the silence, his thoughts lingering on what he was to tell his father about this evening. Caleb could clean him up as much as he wanted, but there would be scars.

“I’ll tell him I punched you,” Caleb said, seeing the worry on Ben’s face.

“What?”

“I’ll tell him I punched you. When we get to your house. I’ll tell him it was an accident. You and Nathan and I got a little too rowdy at my place after I lost a game of Mario Cart and I ended up giving you a smack. We cleaned you up and all is forgiven. The perfect alibi. Nathan’ll back it up, too. He’s always up for a good lie.”

Ben grinned the best he could through his injuries and against the napkin.

“I must look the part now,” Ben said. “My costume matches my face.”

“Well, everyone looks hotter when they’re battered, bloody and bruised.” Caleb bit his bottom lip as he said it, though he didn’t seem to regret the words, more he was adding a hint of seduction. Ben stayed quiet until Caleb finished cleaning up his face. He lowered the napkin and Ben was going to say thank you, but Caleb leaned quite close and kissed Ben on the nose.

“What’d you do that for?”

“Kiss it better.”

“Oh,” Ben sighed. He wrinkled his nose at the lasting sensation. “Am I better now?”

“Only the part you kiss gets better. I only got your nose.”

“That leaves my mouth then.”

“Yes it does.” Caleb was rather suave for a man in a shark costume. His eyes staring directly into Ben’s he leaned forward and pressed his mouth against the split in Ben’s lip. It stung, just a little, but someone could have stabbed Ben in the leg at that moment and he wouldn’t have felt a thing. It was over faster than it had begun, but it was marvelous nonetheless.

“All better,” Caleb said when he pulled away. Ben licked over the part of his mouth where Caleb had been.

“Not yet,” Ben said. “It still hurts a little. You should try again.” Caleb’s eyebrows jumped up.

“You’re not gonna pass out if I do?”

“For the love of- I got a head rush!” Caleb cut him off my pulling him close. Their noses touched this time, and Ben winced a little at the pain, but Caleb managed to move his mouth in such a way to avoid the collision again. The wind blew and crinkled leaves swirled around them. Beyond Ben’s closes eyelids the first glow of sunrise was beginning to show.

“We should look for the others,” Ben mumbled against Caleb’s lips.

“I’m sure they can fend for themselves,” Caleb replied. “Why don’t we get you home and explain to you father exactly what didn’t happen tonight.”

“I’ll lead the way.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I could get used to that,” Ben said. “Maybe I should wear this all the time.”

“Everyone likes a man in a uniform.”

“What about a man in a shark suit?”

“Everyone _loves_ a man in a shark suit.”

“Then I’ve got a lot of competition, haven’t I?”

This time, it was Caleb’s ears that went bright red.


End file.
